WASHINGTON – Land administration in the Philippines is governed by over 60 laws and regulations, some of which date back more than 100 years, creating the potential for conflict and vast opportunities for corruption, a US House committee hearing looking into how best to protect property rights and fight land grabbing in Southeast Asia was told.

In an opening statement, Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, said an outdated and inefficient  land administration system has resulted in fraudulent, overlapping and duplicate or triplicate land titles and widespread land grabbing in the Philippines.

“The perpetrators are local politicians, foreign investors and well-connected people,” he said.

Royce lauded President Aquino for his “considerable efforts to reform and clean up politics” in the country, but said his few years in office cannot undo the years of damage done by deposed President Ferdinand Marcos.

Royce said in the aftermath of violent typhoons, victims on top of losing their homes and belongings can also find themselves without a shred of proof of their rights to their property because of land ownership records damaged or destroyed. 

Royce said during a visit to the Philippines as part of a congressional delegation several years ago, he himself was personally prevented at gunpoint from accessing the property of a constituent by what appeared to be local security forces.

Jonathan Stivers, an assistant administrator of the US Agency for International Development, said protecting land rights was key to promoting growth in the rural and urban areas of the Philippines.

The high cost of property registration and the fact that seemingly routine registry processes like correcting clerical mistakes, issuing lost titles and weeding out fraudulent certificates require lengthy court processes, are among the constraints to secure property rights, he said.

As an example, he said 90 percent of land cases handled by the Supreme Court in 2012 took more than 20 years to make their way through the system of hearings and appeals to higher courts.

Several victims of land grabbing in the Philippines were among those who testified at Friday’s hearing.

Joey Quinto, publisher of the California Journal for Filipino Americans, told the hearing he was a land-grabbing victim, “in particular a victim of land locking by a well-connected and powerful general in the Philippines.”

He said the retired general was preventing his family from accessing two properties they owned in Antipolo, Rizal and appeals to government agencies have done nothing to prevent the general from blocking the access road to their property.
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Zosimo Laurel Contreras, another Filipino American, said his family’s property in Tagaytay had been seized by a land grabber and there was nothing they could do about it. He asked the committee – in the name of justice and the rule of law – to work with the Philippine government to help his family keep their land inherited through many generations.


By Jose Katigbak, STAR Washington bureau (The Philippine Star) 

With their functions expanding from shopping and dining to venues for Catholic Mass, Zumba workouts or weddings, malls are taking on a more important role at the heart of communities, experts say.

MANILA, Philippines – As she eyes the colorful ice creams on offer at a Baskin-Robbins in one of Manila's most luxurious shopping centers, Philippine teenager Jamie Gamboa admits to being an incurable mall rat – but not only for the shopping.

"It's the only place where you can just walk around without having to spend, and there are a lot of things to entertain us," said the petite 16-year-old, surrounded by a gaggle of friends.

"We tried other places but it's more of a hassle. In parks, there isn't enough to do. A museum or a zoo isn't a place you go to more than once."

With their functions expanding from shopping and dining to venues for Catholic Mass, Zumba workouts or even weddings, experts say malls are taking on a more important role at the heart of communities.

Filipino life traditionally revolved around a public square, with a church, local government building and market attached, where adults socialized and children played, according to urban planner Felino Palafox.

But while malls have long been a mainstay of urban Manila – the capital has at least 153 peppering its skyline – the neon-lit consumer temples are now sweeping across the Philippine archipelago, penetrating even rural areas.  "They have replaced the public plazas as gathering places," Palafox said.

City lungs 'lost' 
As the Philippines' population has boomed in recent decades, soaring from 68 million in 1995 to 100 million in 2015, creeping urbanization has magnified the appeal of malls to residents and businesses alike.  But this has come at the expense of green spaces, left languishing through neglect, short-sightedness, and poor urban planning.  "We're losing the lungs of the city," said Palafox.

Provincial grocer Wendy Tan remembers how she and her friends used to play in the sprawling, verdant plaza in Mambusao, a central Philippine town of about 38,000 people.

But as the park deteriorated over time, the locals searched for the next best thing – a spanking new, 300-hectare air-conditioned shopping mall in Roxas City, about an hour's drive away.

"There are no more tall trees. No more fountains. There's no more shade so it's too hot," she said.

So the mall developers stepped in, sometimes even leasing green spaces to build retail complexes.

"They know very well that the government is not delivering services so they address those. If the government does not create public spaces, they will build public spaces," said Jorge Mojarro, a Spanish PhD student studying Philippine culture. 

"It's not that Filipinos do not like parks. They are just not being offered parks," he added.

But many Filipinos don't seem to mind, seeing malls as safer than the streets – the crime rate remains high in Manila, despite police figures showing a fall nationwide – and a way to relax in cool surroundings.

Jacqueline Luis, a 48-year-old mother of 3, says malls are a sanctuary for her family away from the tropical heat and traffic-choked thoroughfares of the urban metropolis. 

"You can let them (kids) go to the amusement center or watch a movie while you shop. And then you can all just meet up at the same place later," she said.

Even the smallest towns are trying to attract malls.

Dean Villa, mayor of Larena, on the tiny island of Siquijor, has entered into a joint venture with a private firm to develop a mall in his community of about 13,000.

He hopes the new mall will attract people to spend money in his town – including local residents.

"Over here, as soon as payday comes, everyone hops on the ferry to Dumaguete City, about an hour's ride away, because they already have a mall there," he told Agence France-Presse.

Not just shopping
As their steady march continues, malls are swallowing many of the services typically found in the public square.  Many boast chapels as well as child-care centers, allowing families in the devoutly Catholic nation to combine religious and family duties with shopping.

Satellite government offices in shopping centers allow Filipinos to pay utility bills and get documents such as voter ID cards, business permits, driver's licences and passports. 

The election commission is even considering allowing voting in malls.

"We evolve to what is needed by the people," said Alex Pomento, vice-president of the country's largest mall chain, SM Prime Holdings. 

The group often hosts free community events in their malls such as mass weddings, school graduations, Zumba workouts and singing contests – events once held in town plazas.

The rise of Internet shopping does not worry the company, with 4 more of its malls set to open this year on top of the current 50.

"Our malls are destination places," Pomento told AFP.

In an ironic twist, some larger malls are now literally replacing the lost parks by building expansive rooftop gardens to make them more attractive and in a nod to environmental concerns.

"Nowhere else in the world has a population so absorbed the shopping-mall lifestyle, Paul Santos, vice-president of the Philippine Retailers Association told AFP.
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"It's not something you can stop." – Rappler.com

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By:  Agence France-Presse /http://www.rappler.com
Photo Credit:  Megaworld